The 2012 Grammy Award for best rock Album went to the Foo Fighters. Now whether you are a fan of the band or not, you can still appreciate the message sent during the band’s award acceptance speech via front man Dave Grohl.

 “For me this award means a lot because it shows that the human element of making rock is the most important. Singing into a microphone and learning to play an instrument and learning your craft is the most important thing for people to do. It’s not about being perfect. It’s not about sounding correct. It’s not about what goes on in a computer. It’s about what goes on in here (points to heart) and what goes on in here (points to head.)”

The message Grohl sent on the night of the Grammy’s was, for his purposes, dressed in a musical theme, but when stripped down, the meaning of the message becomes universal…understanding, developing and appealing to the human component is key in any operation.

In the world of sales this message can be implemented in countless areas and in many ways, unfortunately many managers fail to heed the significance of this message in one crucial area …employee development.

Research continues to emphasize the ineffectiveness of traditional training methods when void of post training reinforcement.

Sales Performance International has reported that:

• Participants in sales training forget half of what is taught within 5 weeks
• 55% of respondents listed "lack of post training implementation" as one of the top weaknesses of sales training.

Managers who neglect to engage with their employees on a deeper level are not adequately satisfying their employees’ needs to be listened to, cared about, motivated and inspired, ultimately leading to low productivity and effort.

The addition of training reinforcement through coaching merges the human element in employee development. Coaching provides employees with an opportunity for personal and professional growth by challenging, inspiring, involving and actively engaging them in a manner that will increase effort and drive progress.

• Training + Coaching led to an increase of 88% in productivity, versus 23% from training alone.

- Research completed by the Centre for Management and Organizational Effectiveness

Whether you’re a famous rock star or managing a sales staff, don’t overlook the clout of the human element.

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